Easter

Once Christmas is over, I start counting the days until Easter.  This Easter did not disappoint!  We had a great day with beautiful weather.  We started the morning checking out what the Easter Bunny brought then headed to church.  We finished the day by hosting our families for dinner.  It was a wonderful day and a great way to start our spring break.

All Aboard Sam's Party Train

We celebrated sweet Sam's 3rd birthday with, what else, a Thomas party!  Our parties continue to get simpler and simpler as I realize my children want fun invitations, family and friends, cupcakes, and balloons...and probably some presents too.  We had a house full of family and friends and had such a fun day celebrating Sam.  We did presents once everyone arrived, then sang Happy Birthday and enjoy cupcakes and other treats.  Our playroom the favorite spot of kids who visit, so they headed upstairs after eating.  Everyone played so nicely while the grownups visited downstairs.  Our only hiccup was that we forgot to put the dry erase markers on the easel away.  Two kids left covered in marker, but thankfully my carpet and walls sustained no damage.  It was such a fun afternoon celebrating Sam and his most favorite train.

3

Dear Sam,
You are three today! Three sounds too old for someone who will always be my baby. We spent the day celebrating you with a fun Thomas the train party.

You are growing like a weed. You weigh 33 pounds and are 39 inches tall. You are quickly approaching Avery in height and weight, and we are asked if you two are twins. You wear 3t shirts and pants. The pants are getting a little short in length.

Those growth stats make me feel somewhat better about your picky eating habits. You still mainly prefer fruits and dairy products, with breakfast items, sandwiches, chicken, and snacks mixed in. We make you try a bite of each item we have for dinner, and that usually results in shivering and gagging. You do it without much fuss, but it has not encouraged you to willingly try any new foods. You still love your milk in the morning and a little bit before bed.

You becoming a big boy in several ways. You have been potty trained since the fall and do so well. You still wear diapers at night, but that's ok. I know once we stop having milk at night that it will improve. We have also reduced your pacifier times to first thing in the morning, naps at home, and while you are putting on your pajamas at night. You would love to still have it all the time but you are doing well having it at those set times.  Thankfully, you haven't grown up so much that you don't need your Duckies.

Your speech and vocabulary are incredible, and I love hearing what you have to say. You like to talk and you like to ask questions. You are working on counting, shapes, and colors and love to read your stories at night.

Trains, trucks, and all things that go are the toys of choice right now. You could push your big trucks for days and spend hours playing trains. You love to be outside or inside playing all sorts of things with Avery. You and Avery have such a special bond and get along so, so well. You still love TV but are not as frantic about it as you used to be, and you don't stay stuck on the same movie over and over.

 

Sam, we couldn't love you more if we tried. You are a sweet and cuddly, rough and tumble, Mommy's boy. You brighten our days with your smile and laughter. We never know what you might say or do, but we know big things are ahead for you.

We love you!
Mommy and Daddy

More Snow!

After our big snow, we had another big snow on February 26th.  We missed school on the 25th because of icy conditions from the day before.  After missing 4 days the week before {plus Presidents' Day}, we went home early on the 24th, a Tuesday, and were out the rest of that week also.

That Wednesday morning after the roads cleared, I went into school for a little bit to prepare for our virtual snow days.  Sam had a great time checking out his new classroom.  We redeemed Avery's Book It coupon and ran some errands since I knew we would be stuck inside for a few days after that.

Snow Day

Last year we had two big snows in the month of January, so we have been patiently waiting for some winter weather this year.  The kids like the idea of snow, and I like unexpected days off and watching The Weather Channel.  We were out of school Monday for Presidents' Day, and the snow started falling that afternoon.  It began to stick immediately and soon after we knew we would be home from school Tuesday.  We ended up getting 5-6 inches, but sleet and freezing rain packed it down and made it crunchy.  It was still plenty for some sledding and some digging.

The years we buy snow clothes we get no snow, so we are usually very under prepared.  Thankfully a snack by the fire will warm you right up.

We were home Wednesday but inside since Avery started with the stomach bug Tuesday night.  Luckily we're home again today, although this mama is hoping to bust out for some adult interaction.  Now that we've had our snow I'm officially ready for spring.

Valentine's Day

In an effort to get caught up and hopefully stay caught up, I'm going to hop right into the present and go back and post-date Christmas and a few other posts.  Maybe that will help be get back to preserving our really big moments and memories.  Thankfully, Instagram records a lot of the rest.

Both kids were so sad when we took the Christmas decorations down.  In fact, they may still have trees in their rooms.  I thought doing Valentine's Day a little bigger might help with the post-Christmas blues.  So, I got a few decorations for our mantle and breakfast room and finally got some of the chair mailboxes.  Once February rolled around we had a few surprises in the mailboxes and did some Love 'Em Up activities.

 On Saturday morning, these clues were in their mailboxes.  These are essentially some of Avery's most-favorite things/places.  Avery has been so worried that the people at Chick-Fil-A had forgotten her {not that they actually know her anyway}.  She's coming up with some creative thoughts lately in hopes of getting her points and wishes across.

We scooted out of the house early and were thrilled to see the hot light on at Krispy Kreme.  Not only were they hot, but they were heart-shaped!

Our next stop was Target.  Even Sam loves "Targets."  Ned had the brilliant idea of letting them both choose one thing.  Sam choose a $9 train in about 15 seconds.  Avery took 15 minutes to finally choose a $35 singing Elsa.

We headed back towards home for Chick-Fil-A.  The kids were so excited to play first, since playing at any time is a rarity.  I just don't like those things.  We enjoyed our lunch and were home well before rest time, which always is a success in my book.

5.5

 You are 5.5 today!  You have been feeling pretty sad that your birthday is still six months away, so a few weeks ago I told you we would celebrate your half birthday.  Your idea of celebrating had to be toned down a little, but I think it was still a special night for you.

Here are some of your favorites at 5.5

Favorite color: blue and pink
Favorite food:
Favorite breakfast food: pancakes (Avery could eat pancakes for every meal and loves brunch day at school.
Favorite snack: muffins
Favorite restaurant: Cracker Barrel
Favorite book: Berenstein Bears and Fancy Nancy
Favorite song: Let it Go
Favorite outfit: school Raider shirt
Favorite game: Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel
Favorite toy: play kitchen
Favorite thing to do: play LeapPad
Favorite thing to do outside: swing
Best friend: Mia, Saydee, Sam
Favorite thing to do at school: play on the monkey bars
Favorite holiday: Christmas
Favorite vacation: Disney World
Favorite place to go: Target
Favorite thing to sleep with: Giraffi
Favorite TV show: Jon and Kate, Kate Plus Eight
Favorite movie: McKenna Shoots for the Stars
What do you want to be when you grow up? Like Mommy and like Pioneer Woman